More in Ethanol

The EPA has proposed levels of renewable fuels to be blended into gasoline and diesel as required by Congress under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. Developed with input from the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Department of Agriculture, the proposal seeks public input on annual volume requirements for renewable fuels in all motor vehicle gasoline and diesel produced or imported by the United States in 2014....More

Corn usage for ethanol will likely be 4-6% higher for the current 2013-2014 marketing year compared to last year, according to Bob Wisner, retired Iowa State University Extension grain marketing specialist. But it’s more in the fuel end of corn usage through the ISU Ag Marketing Resource Center....More

The legislature will likely take up a modification of the Renewable Fuel Standard this year, says Scott Kuschmider, director of government affairs, Monsanto. "We've seen a lot of pressure on the RFS," he says....More

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced the finalization of its proposed Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) volume requirements for 2013 for conventional biofuels, cellulosic biofuels and the total amount of Advanced Biofuels. EPA had previously finalized the 2013 volume requirements for biomass-based diesel at 1.28 billion gallons. ...More

Jim Peterson’s corn contains a magic ingredient: alpha amylase. This ethanol-fermenting enzyme arrives at the plant on the cob, along with the starch for brewing ethanol, as part of Syngenta Enogen corn hybrids....More

Profit margins for the ethanol industry have been in negative territory for 2012, resulting in the closure of more than 20 refineries. The cause of the problem is the high cost of corn, due to the drought-shortened crop and the inability to find adequate supplies of corn to continue refining. The U.S. ethanol mandate is keeping production going, despite the economics, and without that, ethanol content in gasoline would be cut to 3-5%....More

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, commonly referred to as EISA, amended the Federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) by mandating specific quantities and types of renewable transportation fuels for each year – known as the yearly "applicable volume." The applicable volume for a particular fuel (conventional biofuel, advanced biofuel, cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel) determines the quantity fuel refiners, importers and blenders much purchase each year. The below graph illustrates the statutory legal requirements for renewable transportation fuels under the RFS....More

With ethanol production margins under pressure in recent months there has been an understandable search for explanations. One widely discussed factor is the recent surge in "cheap" imports of ethanol to the U.S. from Brazil. As the chart documents, the volume of ethanol imports to the U.S. definitely has risen notably in the in the last few months....More

The EPA recently announced that it would be denying the request for a waiver of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). The EPA indicated that the agency did not find the necessary evidence to support a finding of “severe economic harm” that would have warranted the RFS waiver to be granted. EPA used a series of economic analyses and modeling done in conjunction with USDA and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)....More

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced that the agency has not found evidence to support a finding of severe “economic harm” that would warrant granting a waiver of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). The decision is based on economic analyses and modeling done in conjunction with USDA and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)....More

A full waiver of the Renewable Fuel Standard’s (RFS) conventional biofuel requirement might reduce corn prices by just 0.5% (4¢/bu.) in 2012-2013, according to a new analysis conducted by the Food and Agriculture Policy Research Institute. The study also found corn ethanol production might slip by just 1.3% with a waiver in 2012-2013, while corn available for livestock feed might increase just 0.6%....More

Now after many years of bitter competition with Brazil, many in the U.S. soybean industry hope Brazil raises a good crop to help supply global needs and prevent buyers from upsetting the U.S. soybean industry more than the drought already has. The historic irony may not be lost on the ethanol industry as the U.S. and Brazil are engaged in a hot Latin tango over ethanol, but instead of global buyers contributing the demand dynamics, it is the economics and the government policies that are providing the dance music....More

The National Corn Growers Association joined forces with a large coalition of advanced and traditional renewable fuel stakeholders that launched to defend America’s Renewable Fuel Standard and its benefits to our nation’s economy, domestic energy supply and national security. The new coalition, Fuels America, spans the full spectrum of agriculture, national security, renewable energy and other stakeholders....More

The EPA has announced an increase in the biodiesel volume requirement under the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) from 1 billion gallons in 2012 to 1.28 billion gallons in 2013, a move welcomed by the American Soybean Association (ASA)....More

There has been a great deal of interest this summer in the ethanol market, RFS mandates and corn use for ethanol production. This reflects the impact of the historic drought of 2012 in the Midwest and concerns about how reduced corn supplies will be allocated across consumption categories. The focus of this post moves from the short-term to the long-term. In particular, we are interested in analyzing the basic economic question of how high do crude oil prices have to be in order for ethanol production in the U.S. to be profitable. Sometimes this simple but important issue is lost in the blizzard of daily market data and analysis. The answer also helps provide a frame of reference for thinking about the longer-term outlook for the market demand for ethanol. ...More

The 2012 drought has brought the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) into the forefront. The RFS regulations are managed by the EPA, and those regulations are quite complicated. The RFS requires that minimum levels of renewable biofuels must be used to blend gasoline in the U.S. Corn-based ethanol is the primary fuel ingredient that is used to meet the RFS requirement. Currently ethanol makes up about 10% of the U.S. fuel supply, with just over 13 billion gallons of ethanol/year being produced in the U.S....More

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Friday ruled 2-1 in favor of the Environmental Protection Agency regulations to allow the distribution of E15 for use in newer vehicles....More

Corn prices pushed higher by the worst U.S. drought in half a century would not necessarily moderate if the federal government's corn ethanol mandate were temporarily suspended, according to a report by Purdue University agricultural economists. The report, "Potential Impacts of a Partial Waiver of the Ethanol Blending Rules," suggests that corn prices could fall under some scenarios should the U.S. EPA grant a partial waiver of the Renewable Fuel Standard's (RFS) corn ethanol provision – but only under certain market conditions....More

Just as E15 finally cleared federal regulatory hurdles, the confluence of no blender tax credits, high corn prices and widespread drought has put the ethanol market in jeopardy. And questions abound regarding possible government changes to the current Renewable Fuel Standard....More

The drought is not only causing damage to crops, but it's impacting other industries, too. Kent Thiesse, vice president, MinnStar Bank, Lake Crystal, MN, and former Extension educator, talks about the impact of the drought on livestock producers as well as the ethanol industry and export markets....More

With corn yield estimates declining daily, industries that use corn are concerned about not only the price of the commodity, but also the availability. The elephant in the room is the ethanol industry, which will consume an estimated 4.9 billion bushels of corn in the coming year, regardless whether the U.S. produces 15 billion or 10 billion bushels. But there are an increasing number of asterisks associated with ethanol’s impact on the corn market....More

National Corn Growers Association President Garry Niemeyer released the following statement in response to media coverage and Capitol briefings on the drought, food prices and the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). “This is a time when farmers and ranchers are suffering the nation’s worst drought in years, covering nearly two-thirds of our country’s land mass. Like any crisis, it has led to numerous inaccuracies and exaggerations, especially when it comes to the impact on food supply and retail food prices....More

The latest USDA supply-demand report indicated that corn processing for ethanol purposes would not increase much from the 2011 crop to the 2012 crop. About 5 billion bushels would be converted to ethanol. One reason is the blend wall that serves as a maximum for the 10% fuel blend to be incorporated into the nation’s motor fuel supply. And since the demand for gasoline is declining due to the recession, the demand for ethanol is not growing....More